Sustainable Technology Environments Program initiative introduced at ISE 2012 by InfoComm International to encourage the use of green technology and establish a standard rating system for green products similar to the LEED ratings for buildings. At present LEED and other sustainability ratings do not award points for Green AV technology so the STEP rating may be key for projects where sustainability is a priority.
http://www.thestepfoundation.org/about.asp
STEP is unique in its focus on sustainable planning, design, integration and operation of low-voltage building and communication technology. This includes IT and AV technology in use for the building. None of the other rating systems take these factors into account when in fact they can add up to a big environment impact.
There are five phases of STEP broken up into two main categories. The first category covers the first four phases of Planning and Program. The first four phases are: Planning/Program Phase; Architectural and Infrastructure Design Phase; System Design Phase and Systems Integration Phase.
These phases cover the design and integration aspects with the responsibility to document sustainability fallings on the Design and Integration professionals. As AV Integrators, it is critical to understand this responsibility fully. A STEP award is given at the Systems Integration phase where hardware and software is integrated, tested and then commissioned for use. At the end of this phase, the owner formally accepts the system and takes responsibility for the next category.
The second category moves responsibility to the technology manager for tracking credits for no less than one year. In this last phase, known as the Operations Phase of STEP, allows owners and tenants to track their environmental performance as they operate the building. To encourage continuous participation, a STEP award is given for this operations phase.
Herman Pro AV can play a major role for integration and supply your design with the latest green technologies such as power control and monitoring with Furman products like BlueBolt. http://hermanproav.com/search.aspx?newS=1&search=bluebolt
